We’ve all heard it said that behind every great woman there is a great man, and nowhere is this adage more evident than in the case of Courtney’s husband, Mr. Kevin Schmidt.
Kevin isn’t just Courtney’s betrothed. He’s also her main crew guy and has been helping with race strategy and tension-easing (and appalling) dad jokes since Courtney’s journey began. Naturally, we had to talk to him and find answers to the big questions like who is the real Courtney? What else can Courtney do besides run for a really long time? What’s her star sign? Does she let dishes pile up in the sink for days on end? And what does Courtney’s dentist think of Courtney? We wanted to know, and Kevin was the only person who could give us the dirt, on account of he lives with her. Unfortunately, Kevin didn’t divulge much in the way of Courtney’s trade secrets, but what he did say was pretty damn sweet. Find someone who talks about you like Kevin talks about Courtney and you’ll be happy for the rest of your days. Awww.
Photos courtesy of Kevin
' ...she’s very, very focused, and she likes to do the best she can at everything she does. So, as a teacher, she was phenomenal, always working hard to make sure she was doing a great job. '
What are your star signs?
What are my star signs?
Yeah.
I’m a Scorpio.
And what about Courtney?
Oh... It’s February... I don’t even know!
[Laughter]
Oh man, this is going great already.
She’s an Aquarius.
Aquarius?
Yeah, I actually did know that.
Scorpio and Aquarius. That’s a really good match.
Yeah?
Actually, I don’t know. I have no idea about star signs.
[Laughter]
How did you guys meet?
We met through some friends of ours when we both lived down in Denver.
Like running friends?
So, our friends are a married couple, and we each worked with one of them, and I had kind of started running a little bit for fitness. I was more of a hiker; I liked to hike up in the mountains here in Colorado. And they were like, ‘Hey, we know this girl that likes to run a little bit, and we should connect you guys.
She runs a ‘little bit.’ I guess this was a while ago?
Yeah. So, this was when she had run her first 50-mile race, and she was training for her first 100-mile race.
'I’m very much a data-driven person, so I like to put together spreadsheets to see what we think might be possible, like, it’s mostly for my references for crewing so I know when I need to be in certain places and different aid stations along the course.'
Wow. So, you’ve kinda known her since the beginning of her career?
Yeah, yeah.
One of the things I wonder about Courtney is whether she’s a very determined person across all areas of her life?
Yeah, she’s very, very focused, and she likes to do the best she can at everything she does. So, as a teacher, she was phenomenal, always working hard to make sure she was doing a great job. The same thing you see with her running she applies to everything she does.
There must be something she doesn’t apply that doggedness to, though, right? Like, she must let dishes pile up in the sink or something.
[Laughter]
No, I don’t think so.
Okay. How does she chill out? Does she get on the couch and watch movies?
Well, when we’re relaxing, we like to watch TV shows, so we’ll stream stuff on Netflix, you know, just scroll around and see what we can find. We’re into watching TV shows over movies, lately anyhow.
Does she get along with your mother?
Ah, good, yeah.
Okay, and do her parents like you?
[Laughter]
Yeah, yeah. We all get along really well.
Being that you live together, at what point leading up to a race does your job crewing begin? It must be weeks out.
Yeah, like, all the planning for races starts, I mean, sometimes months before. I like to look at the course and look at the elevation profile and all that kind of stuff to get an understanding of what the race is like. And I’m an engineer, so I like creating spreadsheets; I’m very much a data-driven person, so I like to put together spreadsheets to see what we think might be possible, like, it’s mostly for my references for crewing so I know when I need to be in certain places and different aid stations along the course. But we do a lot of planning.
So, it’s really tactical and your engineering mind is putting together the best race strategy possible?
Yeah, my brain likes to optimize everything it can, so spreadsheets help me maintain all of that.
And what falls to you on race day besides being in the right place at the right time? Like, as her partner, what does she expect from you?
A lot of it is just what we’ve learned over the years. So, it comes naturally now. In the beginning, we made a lot of mistakes, like, when I think of certain things, but we’ve fine-tuned our approach over the last decade or so. And she also puts together a list of things she thinks she might need at aid stations, so I have something to reference when I’m getting ready for each spot.
Do you have a sense of what she’s going to want before she gets to the aid station? Like, are you thinking, ‘She’s gonna want pancakes when she gets here’?
Yeah, I usually have a pretty good idea. Like, for the shorter races, we kinda stick to Tailwind and gels and that kinda stuff, and then the longer the races get, like when she did some of the 200-mile races, then it’s pancakes and quesadillas and that kinda stuff. We just kinda take a guess, or if someone is pacing with her, we might get some info from out on the course, and, like, planning for the Colorado trail, we’ll just have to have all the things available. You never really know what’s gonna sound good when she comes in.
Is it true that she eats a lot of candy?
Ah, yeah. That’s very true.
[Laughter]
'If she comes into an aid station, hopefully she’s feeling great, but if I’m just positive no matter what’s going on, and I just take things slowly and make sure we don’t forget something or rush through it, that’s the main thing, and just positive vibes from everyone helps across the board.'
I actually talked to her about this, and I told her I thought Australian candy is far superior to American. What do you think of that?
[Laughter]
Well, yeah, you’ve got Party Mix, right? That’s the best.
Yeah!
Party Mix is so good.
Wow. So, you’re a Party Mix fan as well.
Oh, yeah. Huge fan.
That’s another Party Mix plug. I gotta get a kickback for this.
[Laughter]
Yeah, you should.
Does Courtney have any superstitions on race day? Things that have to happen, things that can’t happen, never-put-a-hat-on-a-bed, never refer to the Scottish play by name, etcetera?
Ahh... I don’t think there are any superstitions; I think we just have a routine that we follow, but not like, ‘If we don’t do this, it’ll be bad,’ it’s more like we know what works, and if something doesn’t work, we figure it out, but... Yeah, I don’t think there are any superstitions.
She said the same thing... I don’t know why I suspect there’s something supernatural going on...
[Laughter]
Anyway. So, it must be a bit of a balancing act between ‘This is serious and we wanna win,’ but also ‘No pressure—let’s just enjoy the day.’
Yeah, like, I think one of the important things is no matter what’s happening—and a lot of stuff can happen in ultras—no matter what, just being calm and collected. If she comes into an aid station, hopefully she’s feeling great, but if I’m just positive no matter what’s going on, and I just take things slowly and make sure we don’t forget something or rush through it, that’s the main thing, and just positive vibes from everyone helps across the board.
Is it difficult or upsetting to watch Courtney put herself through hell? What’s that like for you, being her partner in life, and to see the person you love kinda torturing themselves? Is it difficult?
It can be, but I know that’s what she loves doing and what she’s really good at doing, so it’s like, you don’t want to see her hurting, but I know it’s not a bad thing. She’s doing what she loves, she’s digging in, and she’s finding the most out of herself. I think it’s super cool.
But are there times when you have to resist discouraging her, like, ‘Oh man, I really want her to stop now,’ like, ‘It’s too gnarly.’
[Laughter]
No, no. I don’t think it ever gets that deep.
What kinds of things do you say to encourage her when she’s in the deep end of a race and it’s getting really hard? I mean, she’s hinted that it’s almost telepathic between you two.
Yeah, we don’t typically talk a lot on aid stations, just because we both know what’s going on, like, I can read pretty well now what’s going on with her.
Right.
So, I just try to provide what I think will help her in the next section and tell some jokes—
Wait, what?
I tell some jokes; they’re always helpful.
'I’m still in awe of her and what she does. She awes me all the time. It’s completely wild. And she’s one of my biggest sources of inspiration and motivation'
What kinda material are you working with?
Ah, just really terrible jokes. Dad jokes.
Give me an example of a dad joke you’ve told at an aid station.
Why don’t ants ever get sick?
I don’t know, why don’t ants ever get sick?
Because they have little anty-bodies.
Oh, my god.
[Laughter]
Kevin, that’s really terrible.
[Laughter]
Yeah, they’re all really bad jokes.
I don’t know if I’d want to hear that joke if I was under an enormous amount of pressure. I’d probably lash out at you.
[Laughter]
Okay, final questions: are you used to who she is and what she can do, or are you still in awe of her?
Oh, yeah, I’m still in awe of her and what she does. She awes me all the time. It’s completely wild. And she’s one of my biggest sources of inspiration and motivation for my own running and for work and everything else.
That’s awesome.
Yeah. Everything she does is just incredible.
I guess she surprises you as much as she does the world.
She absolutely does.
Last, last question—and this is a tough one—How is Courtney Dauwalter Courtney Dauwalter?
Oh... Well, I think she’s so driven and motivated, and the curiosity she has, like, she doesn’t give up. If something seems hard it’s just, like, ‘Challenge accepted—let’s do it.’
Do you think she’ll ever quit?
No. Never. She might quit racing competitively, but the shoes will always come back on. We both hope to be running still when we’re 90 years old.
Just a couple of nonagenarians rocketing up a mountain together.
Yeah. I sure hope so.
Thanks, Kevin.
You got it.
